by John Lowry Lamb ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1995
A troubled boy triumphs over death by talking to a puddle -- in this pillow-soft, feel-good first novel from Ohio writer Lamb. Twelve-year-old Nick hears voices when he ventures beyond the tragedy-stricken boundaries of his family's Ohio farm. A few months before, a road accident killed his father and left his mother bedridden, leaving Nick in the care of a lonely alcoholic aunt. Seeking solace along familiar paths and streams, the boy also communicates with Indian dead from a nearby burial mound, listening as they bemoan bitterly their murder long ago by a marauding tribe. One day after a rainstorm, Nick is stopped by a new voice -- this one coming from a fresh puddle and begging him for help. Thus begins a crucial phase in Nick's recovery as he and the puddle swap thoughts and discuss the hard truths of love and loss. When the stray barn-cat he's befriended (and named The Ghost) is diagnosed with feline AIDS and grows steadily sicker, Nick makes a painful choice to end its misery -- an act that at last allows him to come to terms with reality. Silencing the Indian voices, permitting dead neighbors and a girlfriend killed by a train to exit his world -- where they had continued to carry on as if alive -- he also sets free his mother, who actually died a few days after the accident. The puddle-voice is liberated as well -- by the heat of summer and a thirsty dog; the dog then becomes Nick's companion, making him a normal country boy once more. Cutesy philosophizing is bad enough, but when added to watered-down, washed-out characters and a Disney-happy plot, an already thin debut story gets all the less appealing.
Pub Date: July 1, 1995
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: N/A
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1995
Categories: FICTION
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.